The crying – oh, the crying. A colicky baby can really drive you to the edge. Failed attempts to soothe her crying may leave you wondering if you are cut out to be a parent after all. But, don’t worry, you are. You just need to arm yourself with some tools to battle each colic-crying outburst.

But, first, let’s define why your colic baby cries.

The most popular theory from scientists lately is an underdeveloped and immature nervous system. I know all women who have given birth can attest to the fact that a baby has a big head. Right?

Wrong. Actually, a baby’s head isn’t big enough to house a brain that is mature enough to have all the survival tools a human infant needs. Their brain is only the size of an apple. The birth canal cannot handle a bigger head (thank God). So, when a baby is born, the only inherent survival skills are sneezing, sucking, swallowing and….CRYING!

Most babies (80%, that is) are capable of crying for a reason, and then calming themselves down. These are usually what I call “the good sleepers” or “easy babies”. They are awake for awhile to learn and accept stimuli. Then they sleep to recover and awake to take in more stimuli.

Unfortunately, a colicky baby is usually NOT a “good sleeper” or an “easy baby”. They are high-maintenance. Their nervous system is overloaded with all the sights and sounds of a new world. And by about dinner time, they’ve had it. The crying begins. Once they start crying, they lack the mechanism to calm themselves down. In my experience, most mothers with colicky infants tell the same story. Their baby fights going to sleep. They won’t take a nap. They won’t stay asleep once they do finally go to sleep. These poor babies never take the time to recover from all the stimuli they have taken in over the course of a day.

So this is where you, as a parent, step in. Reduce the environmental stimuli and recreate the feeling your baby had while in the womb.

Remember, in the womb, your baby was packed in tightly. It was dark. It was warm. And the prominent sound she heard was the “whoosh” of blood flowing through the placenta. This “whoosh” is a little louder than the noise of a vacuum cleaner running.

However, there are other items you might have around the house that can lull your over stimulated colic baby to sleep. Most babies can be soothed by rhythmic, monotonous, low-pitched, humming sound that repeats at 60-70 pulses per minute. Here are 10 such items for you to try:

1. A shower running
2. A fan
3. A running dishwasher
4. A running washing machine
5. A very loud, ticking clock
6. A bathroom fan turned on with the light off
7. A metronome set a 60 beats per minute
8. A radio tuned to static
9. A tv tuned to static
10. Smooth jazz or easy listening stations

While listening to these rhythmic sounds, it is best to lower the lights, and make your baby comfortable. Remember, we are trying to recreate the feeling of being in the womb.

Finally, it is true what you read. Baby colic does eventually come to an end. As your baby grows, and their brains increase in size, all of the circuits mature and they learn the survival tools necessary to cope. It only takes about three to six months. In the meantime, when you feel a crying outburst about to happen, turn off the lights…and turn on all your household appliances.

Just kidding!

About the Author
Cherie is the webmaster of www.colic-baby-bootcamp.com and specializes in teaching parents methods for handling a baby with colic. Article Source: EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cherie_Stirewalt.

Swaddling your baby is like creating a “burrito” with a receiving blanket. Your nurses will swaddle your baby while you’re in the hospital. Take the time to learn this technique before you go home! It could mean the difference between an all night crying jag to a restful night.

How Does Swaddling Help My Baby?
Baby’s are born with a startle reflex. It’s kind of like that jerking feeling you get when you’ve had that dream of falling down a well. His arms will fly out and will likely scare (or “startle”) him. If he’s sleeping, this reflex will wake him up. If he’s swaddled, the startle reflex won’t disturb him as his body won’t be able to jerk in the same way.

Swaddling can also offer warmth to your baby during his first few days of life. His internal thermostat isn’t working just yet so his body temperature can’t adjust itself. Even if it’s the middle of summer, chances are your baby may be cool, so swaddling will help him be comfortable.

Also, your baby has just spent 9 months fitting tightly in your womb. It is a snuggly sensation that he is used to, so swaddling will offer his that same comfort that he’s used to.

When Should I Swaddle My Baby?
On occasion your baby may seem to be “over-stimulated”, either by too many sights or sounds, or just be “over-tired”. If you can’t seem to settle baby down, swaddling will offer him the warmth and security to calm down quickly.

Once your baby reaches about 1 month old, only swaddle your baby when he is sleeping. While he’s awake he’ll be moving and working on his muscle development. When he outgrows the need to be swaddled, he’ll let you know by crying and kicking while he’s swaddled. BUT, keep the swaddling technique in the back of your mind. Even at three or four months old, it can come in handy to help calm him down.

About this Article:
Suzy Motter is a mom of 4 ranging in ages from 3 to 14. She offers advice and fun for parents at all stages at her website Suzy’s Kidz.com.

CIO often works first and easiest during nap time. If doing CIO, your baby will probably learn how to comfort himself during the day before he does at night, so daytime is a good place to start. Once your baby gets his naps down moving onto bedtime should make the effort much easier. It is important that you maintain consistency however as to not confuse your baby.

At night you should wait till your baby is visibly tired before putting him down to CIO. If your baby seems to be crying and not giving into sleep, you don’t have to stay out of the room completely. Many people suggest letting your baby cry for five minutes, then going in to comfort them. Pat his back and talk to him letting him know you are there. When you leave, if your baby starts to cry again, let him cry for 10 minutes before you go in. Each time stretch this action out by 5 minutes until your baby falls asleep. Once or twice peek in your babies diaper just to make sure that he doesn’t need a change which could be making him uncomfortable, but still let him work out the crying on his own.

Don’t be surprised if the first attempt at CIO lasts a long time. Your baby will probably fight it the most the first time you do it. The second and third nights your baby should go to sleep much quicker than he did the first night. Every night the crying time should shorten as your baby is learning how to comfort himself and fall asleep on his own. In most cases it takes three days to sleep train your baby via the CIO method. Occasionally it may take less time or more however, depending on your baby. Also, just because your baby starts falling asleep on his own, it doesn’t mean that he won’t still fuss some at bedtime. Fussing will be normal as your baby attempts to calm himself to sleep at night.

CIO while effective can be very hard on mom and dad. It isn’t easy to listen to your baby cry and not go in to pick him up or give in and hold your baby or nurse him until he falls asleep. It takes as much will power for mom and dad to follow through, as it does for your baby to stay awake and not fall asleep. If you believe that CIO will work for your family, believe that you can do it and find a way to stay strong through the process.